Subject: [DECK] T1.x Blade Factory by Jason McCoy Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 06:41:57 PDT From: "Jason McCoy" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hello, Dojo Readers, This is my first post to the Dojo...mainly because, as a "scholar" and judge, I am more of a reader than a writer, and my decklists aren't that interesting because I am generally a much better player than builder. With that said, I would like to offer up a decklist for an Extended (w/ US) deck. It would have been Standard, but Gaea's Blessing will be gone... :( Blade Factory Card Title Quantity Reason for inclusion Whetstone 2 (This is the way the deck wins) Gaea's Blessing 4 (Think about it...) Grafted Skullcap 4 (Was someone talking about Zero-Hand Locks?) Ensnaring Bridge 2 (Fast creatures are a major threat.) Null Brooch 2 (You have to empty your hand...) Exploration 4 (You'll be drawing up to 5 cards in a turn...want to lay as much land as possible) Smokestack 2 (KEY CARD! This card works even better than I had planned on.) Carrion Beetles 2 (These are used to offset opponent's Blessings. They are also good things to sack to the Smokestack otherwise.) Cathodion 3 (Umm...blockers...sack to Smokestack...activate Whetstone.) Mishra's Helix 3 (WOW...'nuff said.) Lab Rats 2 (Smokestack fodder.) Vampiric Tutor 2 (Gee....let's see... Blessing...Whetstone?) Dark Ritual 4 Bayou 4 Swamp 13 Forest 7 First, inspiration: I went to the prerelease in Atlanta. I got a Helix. This was the card I was looking for after seeing the spoiler. My first thought after the first round: I need to draw more land than they do. *Grafted Skullcap* With no hand, I need defense against creatures and spells. *Null Brooch and Ensnaring Bridge* Drawing so many cards & having to discard my hand, what happens when I am caught with 3 lands drawn per turn? *Exploration* Now, I need a way to win. Well, I've got a fairly solid lock, so...deck them...Millstone? No... too slow (not that it would matter in a locked situation, but...) Whetstone? Yeah...cool, but what keeps ME from running out? DUH! So that was the basis. The beetles were an anti-Blessing no-brainer. Originally, I was running the Smokestack and Lifeline to sac the Cathodions and get them back during upkeep while destroying opponent's permanents. Small problem...oversight, actually, the mana from the Cathodions has to go somewhere...Whetstone. But Whetstone hits a Blessing and the Lifeline loses the Cathodion...so the Lifeline was removed...but the Smokestack was working like a charm. The Lab Rats came as a necessity against faster decks, you have to pump the Smokestack up as high as possible. So there were the cards. I've only playtested for one night, so I still have lots of changes to make. First and foremost, I need to get certain cards faster. I may add more Ensnaring Bridges, because when I die, it is to creatures. Gotta have artifact destruction in sideboard...a Copied Helix sucks. Maybe more Tutors. I am also going to experiment tonight with Mirri's Guile. It should speed things up in the opening and then is fodder for the Smokestack after I am drawing 3 a turn. Ok...basics: Get the Helix out ASAP. It's awesome. Shut them down. If you get a Helix, Brooch, and Skullcap out (and mana to power them...shouldn't be hard at all), you are in GREAT shape. Don't attack unless you CANNOT lose anything from it. I know it is tempting to hit them for one with the Beetles if they don't have any blockers, but you need to save the Beetles for what they are for: to get the graveyard outta there. If they have no creatures and no red mana, sure... attack with the Cathodions, otherwise, save them for blocking. Once you get a Whetstone out (don't hurry too much on this one. Once it hits, the game ends in a hurry.), you don't need to worry about the red. If you draw the Blessings, here are your targets in order of priority: other Blessings Smokestack Dark Ritual (Yes...I'm serious...the more mana, the better) Bridge Helix Skullcap Exploration Of course, the priority may change during the course of the game, but this tends to hold true normally. Don't refrain from playing something because you've already got one. When you have duplicates of Whetstones, Explorations, Cathodions, etc., you have good fodder for Smokestack. Remember to activate the Smokestacks second ability BEFORE its first ability. You opponent will thank you for it. ;) If you get both Smokestacks out, pump them up EVERY turn...when you get to the point that you will lose lock cards, sac the one with the most counters to the other (and quite possibly sac BOTH Smokestacks). Don't be afraid to sac lands. You'll be drawing lots and playing multiples per turn. Once you get a Null Brooch, Bridge, and Skullcap out, only counter things that will severely disrupt the lock. If you have a Helix out at the same time, you should be fine...watch for Shattering Pulse, Disenchant, and Shatter (and the like) during their upkeep. If it comes down to playing a permanent or tapping their lands on their turn, it is usually more helpful to play the permanent. This is NOT always the case, and is VERY subjective. I know the deck can be improved, and I am working on it. But after playtesting it last night, I am VERY confident that it can be a comptetitive deck in several environments, including T1.x, T1.5, and even T1 with some modifications. In T1 and T1.5, think Voltaic Key and Relic Barrier with the Smokestack. I look forward to any comments/critiques/suggestions. Jason McCoy twistagain@hotmail.com or mccoyje@wku.edu ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com